Like many fighting games, Tekken is known for its iconic fighters. Characters like Jin Kazama, Nina Williams and Hwoarang are beloved to fans, and they have established positions in gaming culture. Despite this, some of the most memorable characters in Tekken 7 were actually guest characters not unique to the series.
Tekken is a huge fighting game franchise primarily known for its video games, but there have been a few film and print adaptations as well. Most entries in the Tekken series were incredibly well-received by critics and fans of fighting games alike, with many praising Tekken for raising the standards of the genre -- and now, Tekken 8 is on its way. Tekken 7 is known for being more approachable to beginners than previous games, and features four crossover characters from outside Tekken's world. These characters are each iconic in their own right and helped to define the game.
Akuma Was Shocking for All the Right Reasons
Of Tekken 7's four guest characters, Akuma is probably the one that defined the game the most, primarily due to the circumstances of his inclusion. Akuma is one of the main antagonists from Street Fighter, another iconic fighting game with a long history. He is a powerful warrior whose singular goal is to defeat every opponent in battle, at any cost.
When he appeared in Tekken 7 as a playable character, fans were surprised, as Street Fighter is arguably a competitor franchise to Tekken. Not only do fans get to play as Street Fighter character Akuma in arcade mode, he also has a significant role in the story, making his inclusion really matter. Akuma being in the game marks an important collaboration between two of the biggest fighting games of all time, which is why he really defines Tekken 7.
The Walking Dead's Negan Is Another Antagonist Who Shines
Negan is another character whose inclusion in Tekken 7 was surprising for fans. The most unusual thing about Negan's inclusion is that unlike Akuma, who originates from another fighting game, Negan has little relevance to the gaming world. Negan is a character from The Walking Dead that fans love to hate, as he went from an antagonist who killed one of the show's most beloved characters to a main character in his own right.
Negan was added to Tekken 7 because the director and producer are both huge fans of The Walking Dead, and they agreed he would be a great fit in Tekken's world. However, Negan's addition did have fans scratching their heads, with many remarking that he's a bit of an odd choice for Tekken's world, and that he'd probably fit better in Mortal Kombat.
Geese Howard Is a Fan-voted Favorite
Similar to Akuma, Geese Howard also comes from another series of fighting games. Geese is the antagonist of SNK's series of three fighting games, Fatal Fury, The King of Fighters and Art of Fighting, making him an iconic character for long-time fans of the genre. Geese is a crime boss who fights with a distinct Aiki Ju-jitsu style.
Different to others on the list, Geese Howard was actually chosen for Tekken 7 after a community vote. Hosted on game director Katsuhiro Harada's Twitter account, Geese won second place in the competition, losing to Kiryu Kazama from the fan-favorite Like A Dragon series. Geese was added to the game despite coming second, much to the excitement of die-hard fighting game fans.
FFXV's Noctis Is a Strange Pick for Tekken
The fourth playable guest character in Tekken 7 is Noctis, the protagonist of Final Fantasy XV. Though Noctis may not be the most well-known Final Fantasy hero, he's a strong character in his own right -- though his addition to Tekken 7 is a curious one. He sets himself apart from the other characters by being the only one armed with weapons, which was a strange but interesting choice by the developers.
Noctis' addition to Tekken 7 was somewhat controversial with fans, with many expressing concern that his playstyle doesn't fit Tekken. Fans also complain that while many people enjoy playing as Noctis in online matches, there's no way to practice fighting against him without purchasing the DLC. This led to a number of complaints, with some players even quitting online matches if their opponent picks Noctis.
Could Tekken 8 See Even More Guest Characters?
After Tekken 7 opened up the Tekken world to the possibility of crossovers, fans are understandably keen to see more guest characters appear in Tekken 8, which is slated to be a game-changer for the series. Despite going so long without featuring crossover characters, Tekken's developers have established expectations that guest characters could appear in the next game. Tekken 3 also featured a guest character: Gon, a dinosaur from a manga series of the same name, as a secret unlockable fighter. For the most part, though, the games have focused on established Tekken characters and lore, so it's interesting to see the series take this new direction.
The Tekken community has been abuzz with discussion, with much speculation about potential guest characters from manga, other video games and more. It hasn't been officially announced that guest characters will feature in Tekken 8, but given how iconic they were in Tekken 7 and how positive the fan reception was, it only makes sense that they will be. Fans aren't expecting an eclectic mix of characters like Super Smash Bros., but it would certainly be a missed opportunity to leave guest characters out of future games after they were so beloved in Tekken 7.